Too Close
by Quick Shot
Summary: In this fic Jake is clamed to be dead, but is he? This was my first attemt at writing a story.


10

AUTHOR: Quick Shot.

SUMMARY: In this fic Jake is clamed to be dead, but is he? Are that's something that your gunna have to find out. This is my first fic that I've written in this style. So it might be a bit, no wait it might be very bad, give a kat a chance, I'm experimenting new ways to write. Sue me. Well a bit more about the story. This more or less is about how much Jake really means to Chance or how Chance finds out how much Jake means to him. Witch is where the saying, 'You don't know what you've got, until it's gone,' comes into play. Please read!

Too Close!

The death of his best friend, partner, lil brother has not yet sunk into the tabby's mind, each day since that fatal day a month ago now, he would look in his friends room, in a hope what happened was a nightmare and his younger friend was in his bed sound asleep, but every morning it was the same, the bed was empty the room was dark.

'Who am I kiddin'? Jakes gone and it's because of me, it was my fault, my fault! That my partner my best friend my little brother! Is dead, and I had a part in it, in his death! I wish it was me lil bro and not you! You didn't deserve to die! I did! Oh how I wish it was me not you! How I long to be with you again bud, every day I wonder if I can go on with out you, I should have fell back when Feral ordered me that day! If I did then we would have been on the force and had back up. And you wouldn't have been shot twice! No you would be here with me!' A tear escaped the big tabby's eye as he remembered the day Jake died. 'I can't believe it's been a whole month since, that day, that day you died! In my arms! I would give anything to go back and save you, anything!' Another tear escaped the tear filled eyes of Chance Furlong.

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Meanwhile in a small hut in the mud drenched part of mega kat forest, Mac and his wife Molly with a prisoner hide out.

"You will do it!" Molly yelled to her husband.

"Will I? That's the first I've heard of it!" Mac yelled back to Molly.

From in a muddy and cold cell, there prisoner can here them argue, that's all the two robots do, is argue, for the last month.

The prisoner frustrated and sick and tied of hearing them argue non stop, so he finally built up the energy to say something.

"Don't you two bolt buts ever stop fighting?" He asked with a dry weak voice.

It's been two weeks since he had any thing to eat or drink, he has two gun shot wounds, one in his right shoulder, the other in his right side. He had to bandage them up with the cloths he is wearing, he has mud in his wounds and mud and blood mixed together all over his body and cloths. He once had beautiful creamy fur, but now, that has faded, into a colour close to white, he once was a powerful fighter, but now, he's got no muscle, and not much body fat, he's skin and bone, you can see bone poking out every where on his body. He also has a daily betting from the two MetalliKats, they use him as their punching bag. There's not one part on the prisoner that doesn't hurt, every thing from the tip of his ears down to the tip of his claw hurt or sting. His gun shot wounds are infected. He sleeps on the muddy hard ground, when he sleeps; the pain keeps him awake most nights, two of his ribs are broken, the rest of them bruised, badly, He has bruises and cuts all over his body.

Molly walked up to the cell the prisoner is in.

"If I was you, I'd shut up now!" She growled.

"Well your not me, and I wish you to wire heads would shut up, how one of use haven't killed the other is a miracle!" The prisoner said back growling the best he could.

"That's it no one back mouths Molly Mange and gets away with it!" Molly opened the cell door walked up to the prisoner and grabbed him by the neck lifted his body off the ground, the prisoner gasped and tried to get free from the grip, but he was too weak and depleted. Molly slammed the prisoner's already wounded back up against the brick wall of the cell twice, before letting go of his neck; he dropped to the ground with a loud thud on his right side. He gasped heavily as air flowed into his lungs; with every breath he took pain shoots through his lungs and ribs.

Molly was just about to dig her claw into his gun shot wound on his shoulder, when Mac came running up to the cell.

"Molly we gotta go, the Enforcers have found us!" He said.

"What about this piece of crud?" She asked pointing to the fallen prisoner.

"He's as good as dead, leave him, we must go now!" Mac said as he took a glance at the prisoner then looked at Molly.

With that both MetalliKats left before the Enforcers got there.

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Back at the salvage yard, Chance is still groping in pity and sorrow.

'Jake my only family, I let you down!' Chance sobbed he was now crying, looking at an old photo of him and Jake together, in the photo Jake has his elbow on Chance's right shoulder grinning with half his fangs showing. Chance has his arms folded across his chest and the same grin as Jake.

"Huh, this was taken two days before you… died; it took us three shots before we set the timer right." Chance couldn't help but smile as the memory.

He was in a trail of thought when the phone ran.

Chance wasn't sure if he wonted to answer it or not.

But after five rings he finally answered the call.

"Hello?" He answered.

The kat on the other line was one kat that he never thought would ring him.

"Hay Chance its Felina, I'm calling to inform you that Jacob Clawson isn't dead, he's alive, and at my uncle's infirmary, you can come see him." Felina announced.

Chance was speech less, he's alive? Wait but how? He watched Jake die in his arms, wait! Who really cares? He's alive! Jake's alive!

"Chance?" Felina asked when she didn't get any reaction from the tabby.

"I'll be there in ten." Chance said than hung up the phone, grabbed the tow-truck keys and left, heading to Enforcer headquarters.

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"There's a chance that young Jacob still might not make it, I mean just look at him, how he survived with the MetalliKats for a month is a miracle in its self, not to mention the two bullets he received started to rust, giving him gang-green, plus the fact that he is skin and bone. He's been through more than I have through my years, and I use to be in the recent army, I'm sorry to say Mr. Furlong, but he might not make it through this night." An old grey furred doctor said to Chance as the tabby and the doctor stand out side Feral's infirmary room.

"But there's a chance he might make it right?" Chance asked fighting the erg to shed tears, Jake needed him to be strong, for him.

"A slim one." The doc replied with a sigh.

"Can I see him?" Chance asked with his head now down after the doctors words.

"Yes, but he's asleep, try not to wake him, young Jacob needs all the rest he can get."

Chance just nodded and walked into the room, in there, he saw just Jake in the bed a small arm chair next to the bed and one large window the chair is placed next to as well, Jake had chubs coming out of his nose mouth and one in his wrist, a heart monitor was the only noise in the room, beeping over every second as Jake's heart beet. His chest moved up and down slowly.

The tabby sat down in the chair, he looked as his best friend his face was so pale and he could see his cheek bones clearly.

His sadness was taken over by anger, anger to the MetalliKats.

'I swear I'll get Mac and Molly for what they did to you lil brother! If it's the last thing I do I'll get them and make sure they don't come back!'

Just as Chance finished his train of thought Felina walked in closing the door behind her.

"Hay, how are you doing?" She asked in a whisper so she didn't disturbed Jake.

"Better than him." Chance replied looking at Jake. "Who found him? And where?"

"I found him, in a muddy cottage, in the swamp, my uncal found where the MetalliKats hide out was and I took some Enforcers with me to check it out, we didn't find them only Jake covered in mud and his blood, seeing him walk out of a cell the MetalliKats must have had him in, I'll never forget what he looked like, when I saw him I froze, I think the shock from seeing him alive and the way he was, skin and bone, I don't recon the SWAT Kats could be prepared for what me and the other Enforcers saw, he took two steps then fell, but Tabmon court him before he hit the ground. And we brought him back here." Felina replied as she stood by the window facing Chance.

It was silent for two minutes, until Chance and Felina heard a groaning noise.

"Jake?" Chance said in a whisper standing up and looking at the faded form of this buddy.

Jake's eyes flattered open only half and his amber orbs looked at his friend standing by his side then shut again.

"Buddy?" Chance whispered again.

Felina was standing behind he tabby looking over his right shoulder.

"That must be a good sing, Chance that he will pull through." Felina whispered as Chance sat back down with a sigh.

"I have to go, paper works not going to file it's self, don't worry he'll make it." Felina said then walked out closing the door behind her.

'Don't worry? Huh, easy for her to say, it's not her only family she's got lying in that bed.'

The next morning Chance found himself asleep on the chair beside Jake's bed with a blanket over him.

"Wow I must have fallen a sleep." He said to himself as he stretched and looked at Jake.

But there was something different about him, something was missing. But what? The chub in his mouths gone! And that machine, the one that monitors his heart! It's gone as well! That must mean he's gunna be ok!

The tabby couldn't help but smile, He dose look better than he did yesterday, only a bit but at least he's looking better!

Then there was a nock at the door.

"Mr. Furlong, I need to talk you for a minute." The aging doctor said as he opened the door.

Chance got up and walked out. "Yes, doc what is it?"

"Call me, Orlandoo, You might have noticed that the air chub and heart monitor are gone, well that's a good thing, young Jacob will pull through this, in about five months he will be able to go home." Dr. Orlandoo said with a hopeful smile, witch made Chance fill hopeful himself.

"That's radical Dr. Orlandoo, but what brought this on?"

"Yesterday young Jacob wasn't fighting at all, it was like he didn't want to live any more, but when you showed up yesterday he began to fight, as if seeing you gave him a reason to live."

Chance didn't say any thing, he was too shocked. Why would Jake want to die? Why wouldn't he fight? Jakes always been a fighter, nothings ever made him stop fighting so why did he stop? It doesn't make sense!

After those thoughts the tabby returned to his position on the chair back in the room.

He looked at Jake then out side it was a sunny day, from the window he can see the park, and all little kittens running around playing wile there parents laid back and watched their kittens play happily, it is a Sunday, the day parents got to have away from their jobs and relax and have fun with their loved ones and kittens. But for Jake and Chance this would be another ordinary day, they never had any days off, not even on new years or Christmas, those days they would be repairing a car or fighting a villain of Mega Kat city.

Chance sighed he couldn't believe that the MetalliKats had Jake for a hole month, what did they do to him? Well starved him for one! Beat him! The more the striped tom thought of what they could have, and would have done, angered him.

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Over the next month Jake kept getting better, the colour of his fur was starting to get its colour back, back to its wonderful creamy colour, and his bones aren't as visible as they use to be, and the burses have faded, the cuts have healed, but one cut on his lower right arm has became a scare, that will stay with him for life.

Chance visited Jake every day, after he closed the garage.

But Jake still hasn't woken up since the second day he was in the infirmary.

"Hay pal, I hope you can hear me, just keep fighting! Just three month and two days and your back home, I can't wait, I miss training with you, lil' brother, Callie came around the yard and told me she came and visited you, crud how I miss you, seeing you in here isn't the same, I miss you so much that I even miss hearing you're voice. Please wake up soon, so I don't have to talk to my self in here." Chance says something to Jake every time he goes to see him, in a hope he will wake up and say something back, but each day it is the same, the only reply he gets from the slim kat is his breathing. "Your lookin' better to day too kiddo."

With those words Chance walked out, to see Dr. Orlandoo standing by another door. Looking at a clip bord.

"Hay, Dr. Orlandoo!" Chance called. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked running up to the old doctor.

"Yes of course, Mr. Furlong." He replied turning to face the tabby.

"Call me Chance, why hasn't Jake woke up?" The striper tabby asked, he so badly wanted to know why his best friend hadn't woke since he arrived there.

"Young Jacob has been through more then any Kat should go through and still be alive, I'm amazed he's alive after the condition he was in, He's strong for some so small. It may be a bit more longer before he wakes, Chance it's a miracle in it's self he's alive right now, so just have patiens he will wake up, when he's ready, I afraid I can't say when he will wake up. I sorry, I have to go." Dr. Orlandoo then turned and left.

Chance sighed; he wanted so badly to hear his friend's voice again, to hear him laugh, to hear him say his favourite catch frais, 'Bingo'. The tabby went back and sat by Jake's side for a bit longer.

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Two days later, a few hours after Chance's visit to Jake, he awoke.

The slim Kat's eyes flattered open, his vision was blurry for a few seconds than become clear, he looked around, the only movement he could do was turn his head. He tried to move his left arm, but in trying all he got was a sharp pain in his arm and then through his whole body.

'Crud where am I? Chance I heard him earlier, where did he go? What is this place? It looks some what familiar.' The slim Kat looked over to the door, on the top of the door above the frame, was two words. 'Enforcer infirmary? What?.. How did I get here?... No wait I remember now! Tabmon! Felina! And some other Enforcers came to the hut I was prisoner in, they brought me back here! Then Chance I remember seeing him! He survived! I can't believe it! I was going to not fight because, big brother, I thought you were gone! But then I saw you standing by my side, at first I thought I was dead! In the big litter box in the sky with you, but then I saw Felina behind you, then I instantly knew that I wasn't yet gone and nor were you. So I fought, I wanted so badly to say something to you but I was too weak…..' Jake didn't get to finish his train of thought when some one walked in, an old tom wearing a white lab cot with grey fur. 'Who's that? The doctor?' The old tom was looking down at a clip bord.

When the doctor looked up, he got a big shock, seeing young Jake awake.

"Mr. Clawson! You're awake! Well that's a pleasant site, I'm sure Mr. Furlong will be very happy, can you talk?" Dr. Orlandoo said walking up to the left side of Jake's bed.

Jake opened his mouth and tried to talk but nothing came out, the creamy kat then go worried.

The doctor saw the worry in the young kats eyes, and said with a smile. "Do not worry, young one it will come back, I'll go call your friend?" With those words he left.

'Why can't I talk?' Jake thought worriedly.

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Half an hour later:

"Now remember, Mr. Furlong young Jacob can't talk at this time, try not to make him." The doctor said as he and the tabby stand out side of the infirmary room.

"I remember, but you seemed to forget that I want you to call me Chance, not Mr. Furlong, can I go in now?" Chance wonted so bad just to go in and see Jake awake.

"Go ahead Chance." Orlandoo said with a smile then walked off.

When Chance entered the room, Jake was looking out the window, but eminently turned his head to see his buddy close the door and smile, that smile made Jake forget about his pain, it was so warm and friendly, how Jake missed that felling, when he was around Chance he felt he could do anything, he felt wonted.

"Hay, bud I know you can't talk but I just wonted to say I'm sorry, I left you in the woods when you…" the tabby hesitated for a moment. "… You got shot 'cause of me." Chance looked so ashamed and sad.

Jake wonted so bad to say it wasn't his fault, and he had no other choice but to leave him, he wonted so bad to tell him that it was him that kept him alive when the MetalliKats had him, the reason he fought, was so he could see his big brother again, to see if he survived. And he did! So Jake tried to talk, so his buddy didn't feel so bad and stoped blaming himself.

"Ch-Chance it's not…. Your fault." The slim kat managed to say, but his voice was dry and filled with pain.

"Jake! Don't talk, please save your strength, the doc say you shouldn't try and talk, just rest." Chance pleaded with his friend to save his energy, to not talk until he was a bit better. 'I can't believe he just said that, it was my fault, no matter what you say bud it is my fault, if I had just payed attention, if I didn't let me guard down, you wouldn't have suffered for a hole month! Or you wouldn't be suffering right now! And then you forced your self to talk, just to try and make me fill better. How did I find a friend like you?' The tabby thought as he smiled sadly at his best friend.

Jake didn't say any thing, just shot Chance a look that told him not to be so worried about him.

"I can't help it bud, a few days a go, I thought you were… gone, for a whole month, I thought you were." Chance said as he read the look Jake gave him. The word dead just would come out, that's one thing he never wonted to think of, Jake dead. "I've never had a friend that I call my little brother, my family, I've never had any one care for me more than my own parents, it hurts me to see you this way, and think that I was half the reason your like this, suffering hurting, bud I will always worry about you and protect you, and nothing you say or look at me like will stop me, I'm sorry I just can't, you mean more than the world to me, heck, you are the world to me Jake." Chance said not holding anything back, like he would normally, nearly losing Jake, make him see a new light, just how high the stakes are, and showed him just how much Jacob Cory Clawson, meant to him, and he was determined to let Jake know, he was too close to losing him.

What Chance said court Jake off guard, the slim kat was dumfounded, Chance never spoke his mind, about how much any one meant to him. Jake just wonted to say, 'all right wares the real Chance? And who the claws are you?' He just smiled at his one true friend.

THE END!

Inspirational Music:

"You'll be in My Heart"-Phil Collins.

"ST. Elmo's Fire"-John Parr.

Quick Shot out


End file.
